Valve structure



P 1949- J. F. MELICHAR 2,482,198

VALVE STRUCTURE 'Filed Sept. 5, 1944 Y a attorneys Patented Sept. 20,1949 2,482,198 VALVE STRUCTURE Joseph F. Melichar, Cleveland, Ohio,assignor to The Parker Appliance Company, Cleveland,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 5, 1944, Serial No.552,798

" Claimsf (01151-125) The invention relates generally to'valvestructures and primarily seeks to provide certain new and usefulimprovements in the construction and arrangement of the valve seat andthe cooperating seat sealing means movable into and out of contact withthe seat for preventing or permitting flow of fluid therethrough.

An object of the invention is to provide a valve structure including asimple flat seat, and a valve member movable toward and from said seatand having a yieldable sealing member engageable with the seat around aflow port therethrough and an annulus engageable in non-yielding contactwith the seat after a predetermined deformation of the yieldable sealingmember.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve structure of thecharacter stated in which the yieldable sealing member includes arubberlike ring portion projecting toward the seat, and

the non-yielding annulus includes an outwardly flared portion closelysurrounding said ring portion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a. valve structure of thecharacter stated in which the sealing member and the non-yieldingannulus are mounted as check valve means on a carrier which is swingablymounted in the valve casing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve structure of thecharacter stated in which the sealing member and the non-yieldingannulus are securely clamped together and together have a loose mountingon the swingably mounted carrier designed to facilitate efficientseating engagement of said member and annulus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve structure of thecharacter stated in which the seat, the sealing member, the non-yieldingannulus and the carrier member are mounted on and removable with an endmember threadably mounted on the valve casing and in which the seat isformed in a recess effective to house said sealing member, annulus andcarrier and protect them against damaging contact when the end member isremoved from the casing.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear,the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by referenceto the following detailed description, the appended claims, and theseveral views illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view of avalve structure embodying the invention, the valve being shown open.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view illustrating thevalve in the normally closed position.

Fi ure 3 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 3-3 on Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the valve seated bypressure sumcient to deform the ring portion of the sealing member.

Figure 5' is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the movable valvemember in the partia ly assembled state prior to the upsetting of therivet Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 illustratin the valvemember in the fully assembled condition following the'upsetting of therivet.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view i lustrating a slightmodification of the movable valve member in which a sealing ring isinterposed between the rivet head and the circular plate or flapper.

In the example of embodiment of the invention herein disclosed. theimproved valve structure includes a generally cylindrical casing 5having a flow port 6 in one end thereof in an enlarged cylindriformvalve chamber 1.

The casing 5 is internally threaded as at 8 at the end thereof Oppositethe port 6 for threadably receiving an end plug 9 equipped'with a flowport I'll which is axially aligned with the flow port 6 and the centerof the casing 5. A sealing gasket H is interposed between the plug 9 andthe end of the casing 5 so as to prevent leakage at this point, and thissealing ring may take the form of a flattened 0 ring.

The threadably mounted plug 9 has its inner end counterbored as at I! soas to provide a flat seat I3 which surrounds the port l0 and is disposedin a plane normal to the axis of the casing and its ports 6 and ill. Thecounterbore 12 provides an annular wall i4 projecting inwardly from theplug 9, and this wall is cut away as at H: and

IE to provide two parallel spaced hinge lugs I! through which a hingepin I8 is inserted. It will be observed by reference to Figure 3 of thedrawing that the lugs I! are disposed so close to the adjacent wallportions defining the casing chamber I when the plug 9 is properlyinserted in said casing that the pin I 8 cannot become inadvertentlydisplaced from its mounting in the lugs 11. I

The hinge pin l1 serves as a pivotal mounting for a carrier arm orflapper l9, and the arm I9 is cut away as at 20 to accommodate a torsionspring 2| which is coiled'abou't the pin Hi wi h one end thereofengaging the plug as at 22 and its other end turned at a right angle andengaging the inner face of the carrier arm or flapper l9 in the mannerclearly illustrated in Figure 3. The pressure of the right angularlyturned end 23 of the spring against the member l9 tends to maintain thedesired parallel re ation of said member with the axis of the pivot pinl8 and the seat I 3.

The carrier arm or flapper. Isis provided at i free end with an apertureof a size for loo ely receiving a hub extension 24 from a circular D."tcor flapper member 25. It will be apparent by member 25 also is equippedwith an outwardly projected central hub 21, and this hub is encircled bya flat rubber-like ring II which lies flat against the adjacent face ofthe member 25 and includes an endwise turned peripheral ring portion adimensioned toproject slightly beyond the annulus I of the flappermember 25 in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 6. Aclamping washer It lies against the face of the sealing member 20, andI. headed rivet ll passes through the aligned apertures in the flappermember 25 and said washer in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 5.In the assembling of the swingably mounted valve element, said rivet,after being inserted in the manner illustrated in Figure 5, is upset asat I! so as to tightly clamp the washer ll against the sealing memberand the hub 21 of the flapper member 25, thereby to securely clamp thesealing member to said member 25 in the'manner clearly illustrated inFigure 8.

In Figure 7 of the drawing, there is illustrated a slight modificationof the invention in which a sealing ring 33 is interposed between thehead of the rivet and the flapper member. Such a sealing ring willassure the projection of a tight joint .such as will prevent leakagecentrally through the swingably mounted valve member, although it is notgenerally necessary to provide this extra sealing means because when theassembly is properly riveted, the rivet expands into tight metalto-metal engagement in the flapper member bore. It will be apparent byreference to Figure 1 of the drawing that when the valve is in the opencondition illustrated in Figure 1, the swingably mounted valve member isentirely clear of the central passage through the valve and offers nointerference to free passage of fluid through the casing. when the valveis closed normally,

minus of the flapper II readily permits the derormation or sprerv lingof the ring portion 29 and the non-yielding annulus 26 will come againstthe seat i3 in non-yielding seating contact, without any tendency on thepart of said'annulus to p nch or snip the yieldable sealing member ringportion 29. I 1

The loose mounting of the flapper hub 24 in the aperture of the carrieror flapper arm I! provides a self-aligned mounting for the port sealingvalve element structure.

The flat seat ll hereinbefore referred to may be formed with a flatbottom drill. When thus formed any irregularities in the seat surfaceswill constitute concentric hills and valleys and the yieldable ringportion 28 of the sealing member can be readily deformed to establish aperfect sealing contact with said seat.

It will be noted by reference to Figures 2 and 4 of the drawing that thehinge pin it is spacedaway-from the seat I! so as to be disposedapproximately in line with the center of gravity of zhe flapper orvalvezelement assembly so that when said assembly is properly installedwith the hingev at the top as shown in said figures. only the sprii gpressure is eil'ective in seating said assembly. It should be understoodalso that the spring pressure is suillcient to complete the flapper orvalve element assembly seat, even though the valve structure may beinstalled in a vertical position wherein the weight of the valve elementassembly would tend to unseat the same.

It will be observed by reference to Figure 2 of the drawing that whenthe movable valve member is seated, the annular wall ll projects aroundthe same as a sort of protective housing. It will therefore be apparentthat when the threadably mounted plug 0 is removed'from. the casing,said projecting wall portion It will protect the seated valve memberagainst damaging contact with any supporting means upon which the plugmight be placed or other devices which might damage said valve means.

While a particular form of the invention has been shown for'purposes ofillustration, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a valve, a casing having a port therein] and a seat surrounding.said port, and means for controlling passage of fluid through the portand comprising a member movable toward or from said seat, a yieldablesealing member having a thick ring portion presented for engagement withthe seat and over said port, a nonyielding annulus concentricallysurrounding said ring portion and movable with said movable member andengageable with said-seat after a predetermined deformation of said ringportion against said seat, said sealing member including a thin flatring body portion extending inwardly fromits seat engageable ringportion, said non-yielding annulus being part of said movable member,said movable member having a center hub portion extending from bothfaces thereof, a carrier arm, means pivotally supporting said carrierarm, one of said hub extensions having a loose connection with thecarrier arm and the other said hub extension serving as a. mounting forthe sealing ring, and a clamping washer engaging the said other hubextension, and overlying the sealing ring flat body portion for holdingsaid ring against the movable member and rivet means passing through thewasher, the movable member and the carrier arm for holding these threeparts and the sealing ring in assembly.

2. In a valve, a longitudinal casing having a generally cylindriformchamber therein and a flow passage in one end, a plug remoyably mountedin the other end and having a port therethrough axially aligned with theflow passage and a flat seat disposed perpendicularly faces thereof, onesaid hub having a loose connection with the carrier arm, and the otherhubserving as a mounting for the sealing ring, a washer overlying thering flat body portion and contacting the adjacent hub, and rivet meanspassing through the washer and the hubs and loose mounting of theflapper on the carrier arm for holding the ring, the washer, theflapper, and the carrier arm together, said rivet being disposed to beengageable with the casing in the chamber to limit opening movement ofthe carrier with the ring disposed in a plane approximately parallelingsaid axis.

3. In a valve, a casing having a port therein and a seat surroundingsaid port, and means for controlling passage of fluid through the portand comprising a member movable toward or from said seat, a yieldablesealing member having a thick ring portion presented for engagement withthe seat and over said port, a non-yielding annulus concentricallysurrounding said ring portion and movable with said movable member andengageable with said seat after a predetermined deformation of said ringportion against said seat, said sealing member including a thin flatring body portion extending inwardly from its seat engageable ringportion, and a clamping washer overlying said flat ring body portion andattached to the movable member for securing the sealing member thereon,said thin flat ring body of the sealing member forming a well within thethick ring portion within which the washer is protectively confined,said sealing member and the non-yielding annulus being securely clampedtogether by said clamping washer, a carrier swingably mounted in thecasing, means providing a loose, self-seating mounting for the sealingmember and non-yielding annulus on said carrier, said seat and port andthe swingable carrier all being carried on a casing end plug threadablymounted in the casing and having an annular wall projecting about andprotecting the carrier, the sealing member and the non-yielding annulusagainst damaging contact when the sealing member is seated and the plugis removed from the casing.

4. In a valve, a casing having a port therein and a flat seatsurrounding said port, a carrier arm swingably mounted in the casing, aflapper having a peripheral flange of a diameter greater than that ofthe port and flared toward said port and axially aligned therewith whenthe flapper is opposing the port, a sealing ring carried by the flapper,said ring including a thick ring portion presented for engagement withthe seat over said port and disposed just within the flange flare and athin flat ring body portion extending inwardly from said thick portion,said thick ring portion projecting axially a limited distance beyond theflange so that the flange can engage said seat only after there has beena degree of compression of said thick ring portion against said seat, ahub extension on said flapper having a looseconnection with the carrierarm, said flapper having another hub extension on its opposite sideapproximating in thickness the thickness of the thin ring body portion,a washer secured to said last mentioned hub extension and .overlying thethin ring body portion to hold the ring in place, said thick ringportion in normal condition being spaced radially from said flange flareand from the periphery of said washer, said flange flare allowingfreedom for the sealing ring to spread when pressed by high pressureagainst the seat thereby to permit the flange to engage in nonyieldingseating contact with the seat, and fastening means passing through theflapper and washer securing them together and to the carrier arm.

5. In a valve, a casing having a port therein and a flat seatsurrounding said port, a carrier arm swingably mounted in the casing, aflapper carried by said arm and having a peripheral flange of a diametergreater than that of the port and flared toward said port and axiallyaligned therewith when the flapper is opposing the port, a sealing ringcarried by the flapper, said ring including a thick ring portionpresented for engagement with the seat over said port and disposed justwithin the flange flare and a thin flat ring body portion extendinginwardly from said thick portion, said thick ring portion projectingaxially a limited distance beyond the flange so that the flange canengage said seat only after there has been a degree of compression ofsaid thick ring portion against said seat, said flapper having a hubapproximating in thickness the thickness of the thin ring body portion,a washer secured against said hub and overlying the thin ring bodyportion to hold the ring in place, and spring means yieldably urging thecarrier arm, the flapper and the sealing ring toward the seat, saidflange flare being spaced slightly from said thick ring portion therebyallowing freedom for the sealing ring to spread when pressed by highpressure against the seat thereby to permit the flange to engage innon-yielding seating contact with the seat, said casing port beingformed in a plug threadably mounted in one end of the casing and saidseat constituting the flat bottom of a counterbore formed in said plugand resulting in provision of an annular wall projectingaxially-inwardly beyond said seat and having portions thereof cut awayto provide spaced parallel lugs between which the carrier arm isswingably mounted, thereby to place the carrier arm, the flapper and thesealing ring normally within the protecting compass of said annularwall, and said carrier arm being swingable freely out of said annularwall into position for disposing the sealing ring in an open positionparalleling the axis of the casing port.

JOSEPH F. MELICHAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 226,059 Gillette Mar. 30, 1880286,676 Belknap Oct. 16, 1883 483,635 Prince Oct. 4, 1892 1,286,672Lindgren Dec. 3, 1918 1,510,860 Peck Oct. '7, 1924 1,707,017 Kibele Mar.26, 1929 1,932,348 Long Oct. 24, 1932 2,021,532 Wainford Nov. 19, 19352,107,2(10 Kennon Feb. 1, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 6,424Great Britain May 1, 1888 12,911 Great Britain June 7, 1904

